CREATING FABRICS WITH DYES AND PIGMENTS

As an American in Canada, I can't help but be thinking about all of the family and friends back home today and am hoping they are all able to particpate and celebrate their Independence on this July 4th Holiday. I am particulary thinking about all of the US Forces serving overseas in many areas that can be dangerous and send my thoughts their way.

I have been packing for the great weekends coming at St. Lawrence College here in Kingston as part of the Spring Term course CREATING FABRICS WITH DYES AND PIGMENTS scheduled for two long weekends July 18-20th and August 15-17th at St. Lawrence College, Kingston, ON Campus. This course offers a terrific opportunity for new and returning fibre enthusiasts to create beautiful, original hand-dyed and hand-painted fabric for use in their quilts, art projects and garments.

Please visit the college's Continuing Education, Spring Term, Part Time Studies course listings online for full details by entering http://www.sl.on.ca/ into your search engine. Click on Kingston Campus, Part-Time Studies, Spring Term, Textile/Creative Arts and view the course descriptions. Registration is easy online or call 613-544-5400, ext. 60 Monday-Friday to register. The Course fee is right at $198.63 (with special discounts for our over 60 students) - the most reasonable fee for a 6-day course of any of the college programs in the province. Many of the courses are a five day format and Haliburton's Summer School of the Arts courses are about $275 while Algonquin College in Ottawa courses are $363 this year. St. Lawrence College is an affordable alternative for those who want to study Fibre Arts and have the opportunity to create beautiful new work. And please do bring along a friend...it is always more fun with close friends, though you will always make terrific new fibre arts connections during our creative weekends at SLC.

The two weekend format of our course offers students the opportunity to share their fun while not having to take a full week off from their work, or affecting family time in a huge way. The first weekend, July 18-20th, will be totally devoted to the dyeing process, including Low Water Immersion Dyeing, Dye Painting, Discharge dyeing with Discharge Paste and more. Students will create a palette of beautifully coloured cloth using Procion MX dyes and learn all of the easy and home based dyeing processes that they can take back to their own studios. Creative folding, Shibori and stitched/tied effects will be a part of the course activities. In August, students will return to the classroom August 15-17th for the FABRIC PAINTING component of the course - three days of paint work on the surface of their hand dyed fabrics, rust dyeing, some basic screen print work, stamping and more.

Hoping some of you who read this post will explore the St. Lawrence College website, and join the 12 students registered to date and come experience the excitement of seeing your coloured fabrics emerge from the dye pots the weekend of July 18-20th. This is an excellent opportunity to create multi-coloured fabric surfaces and add paint effects that will ensure that your next year of fibre arts creations are all original and especially important to you. And we always have lots of fun.... just what summer time studies weekends are all about. There is room at the Residence for students who need a place to stay while at the college and Kingston is all about fun during the summer. Come Play.

Have a great weekend. Keep a request for SUNSHINE in your thoughts.